The American Immigration Lawyers Association is reporting that: On October 11, 2019, the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York enjoined and restrained the Department of Homeland Security and USCIS from “enforcing, applying, or treating as effective” the DHS Public Charge Final Rule. In addition, the court specifically enjoined the government from [...]
USCIS 30-day extension of a comment period originally announced at 84 FR 30757 on proposed revisions to the electronic H-1B registration tool. Comments are now due 11/8/19. (84 FR 54159, 10/9/19).
USCIS data on receipts, completions, and RFEs from FY2015 to FY2019 (through 9/30/19) for various employment-based non-immigrant visa categories, including H-1B.
On 10/4/19, President Trump issued a proclamation suspending the entry of immigrants who “will financially burden the U.S. healthcare system,” effective at 12:01 am (ET) on 11/3/19. Immigrants must have approved health insurance coverage within 30 days of entry, or be able to pay for reasonably foreseeable medical costs. Please see presidential document for more [...]
On September 27, 2019, Immigration and Customs Enforcement updated and provided policy guidance on how to determine whether a student’s practical training is in an area “directly related” to the student’s major area of study. This is in keeping with the regulations at 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(A) and is applicable to both CPT and OPT employment. [...]
In a new development, DHS/Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) has commenced site visits to employer locations that train STEM OPT students. This program began about 12 days ago, and clients have started reporting site visits to verify STEM OPT related information. Advance Notice to Employers: According to the Study in the States website maintained by DHS, [...]
Beginning September 16, 2019, the FLAG System's LCA Program Module will be enabled and stakeholders will be able to begin preparing H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 applications using the Form ETA-9035E. However, the FLAG System will not permit the submission of LCA applications until 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 1, 2019. OFLC will continue to [...]
Our latest blog post: When the Executive Order now known as “Buy American and Hire American” was issued in April of 2017, the reaction among businesses and employment based immigrants was one of distress and a sense of hopelessness. Business immigration Practitioners knew the new policy was at best ambiguous and at worst, the [...]
USCIS reports data on F-1 students obtaining another non-immigrant status from FY 2008 and 2018. About 84 percent in this 11-year period were beneficiaries of H-1B visa classification, 6 percent were beneficiaries of other employment-based petitions, and 10 percent obtained non-employment-based status.
USCIS issued policy guidance to address requirements for “residence” in statutory provisions related to citizenship, and to rescind previous guidance regarding children of U.S. government employees and members of U.S. armed forces outside the United States. This policy is effective 10/29/19.